Settling tanks and the systems they are employed in are generally well known in the art directed at achieving solid particulate separation from a fluid. It is not unusual to find in those tanks and systems a dragout or scraping mechanism which removes the settled particulate matter from the tank's bottom surface.
There are, however, inherent and recurring problems with the use of such tanks and systems. Included in the problems is the achievement of the maximum efficiency possible with the surface area available for the settling process. However, achieving this maximum efficiency is complicated by the fact that entering turbulent contaminated fluid disturbs the settling particles in the fluid which is already contained in the tank. A disturbance of the settling particles causes a longer residence time to be required for the fluid being held in the tank and thus decreases the separation potential of the system.
The preferred embodiment of the invention is directed to use in a settling system having a standard tank and a scraping or dragout mechanism. Incoming contaminated turbulent fluid flow is caused to flow into the primary settling portion of the tank in a more uniform, laminar flow; additionally, clean fluid overflow velocities are reduced, and a final settling area for relatively fine particulate matter is provided apart from the primary settling area. The present invention augments the efficiency of the settling system significantly and increases its performance.